Remotely Activated Monitoring Service

ABSTRACT

Concepts and technologies are disclosed herein for a remotely activated monitoring service. The monitoring service can be executed by a server computer. The server computer can detect an event associated with a user device. The server computer can determine that monitoring of a proximity of the user device is to be initiated based upon the event. The server computer can determine a geographic location of the user device and identify monitoring hardware that is to monitor the proximity of the user device. The server device also can issue a command to the monitoring hardware to initiate monitoring of the proximity of the user device by the monitoring hardware.

BACKGROUND

This application relates generally to monitoring services. Morespecifically, the disclosure provided herein relates to a remotelyactivated monitoring service.

The prevalence of mobile devices in modern society has increaseddrastically over the past several years. An overwhelming percentage ofpeople in the United States carry a mobile computing device of some typeon a daily basis, which some users carrying multiple mobile computingdevices. Mobile device users sometimes carry the devices foremergencies. For example, users often say they carry mobile devices toprovide safety in the event of emergencies such as weather emergencies,automotive emergencies (breakdowns, accidents, or the like), healthemergencies, criminal activity, or the like, which may be encountered bythe users.

While users often carry mobile communication devices for protectionand/or for use in these and other emergency situations, most mobiledevices can provide, at most, the ability to call emergency personnel inthe event of an emergency. With the implementation of the E911 systemover the past decade, the dialing of 911 from a mobile communicationdevice typically results in the dialing of an emergency dispatcher, aswell as initialization of a location-determination process for locatingthe mobile communications device.

The accuracy of location determinations in E911 systems can vary, butare mandated as of September, 2012 to be within three hundred metersaccuracy within six minutes of the user dialing 911. While the E911system is helpful, many health and/or personal safety emergencies areover by the time an accurate location of the mobile device can beobtained. As such, E911 systems can help locate users in the event of anemergency, but may not enhance survival rates of the users in the caseof violent encounters or health emergencies.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to a remotely activated monitoringservice. A user device can execute one or more application programsincluding, in some embodiments, a monitor application. The applicationprograms can interact with a remotely executed monitoring service. Insome embodiments, the monitoring service is an application or moduleexecuted by a server computer that can communicate with the user devicevia a network. The user device can capture, via execution of the monitorapplication, event data. The event data can include, for example, stateinformation detected at or in a proximity of the user device, settingsor options for the monitoring service, preferences, event definitions,location information associated with the user device or entitiesassociated with the user device, user data, other data, or the like.

The event data also can be generated by the user device via interactionswith the monitoring service. For example, in some embodiments the userdevice can facilitate interactions with the monitoring service via webinterface accessible via a web browser or other application programexecuted at the user device. The event data can be generated at orreceived by the server computer, and stored in a data storage devicewith information associating the event data with the user device and/ora user or other entity associated with the user device. In someembodiments, the event data can be stored at a data store that isaccessible by the server computer, though this is not necessarily thecase.

The server computer can detect an event associated with the user device.In some instances, the server computer can receive data from the userdevice and determine, based upon the data, that the event has occurred.In some other embodiments, the server computer can periodicallydetermine a location, movement, ambient noise or sound level, and/orother condition associated with the user device and determine, basedupon these conditions, that the event has occurred. Upon detecting theevent, the server computer can determine if monitoring of the userdevice is to be initiated. In particular, the server computer cancompare the detected event against the event data, which can includeevent definitions or the like that, if detected, will prompt monitoringof the user device. In some embodiments, the user device can generate anexplicit monitoring request for requesting monitoring. As such, theserver computer can determine that monitoring is to be initiated basedupon analysis of event information and/or based upon receiving anexplicit request.

Upon determining that an event or request for monitoring has occurred,the server computer can initiate monitoring of the user device orgenerate a monitoring alert that, when received by the user device,causes the user device to prompt for approval or denial of themonitoring. By prompting users when particular events are detected, themonitoring service can offer proactive monitoring before a user evenrealizes that a threat or emergency situation exists. If the userapproves of the monitoring and/or if the monitoring is to commencewithout user input (per user settings or configurations), the servercomputer can initiate the monitoring.

The server computer can identify monitoring hardware and/or software ina proximity of the user device. As used herein, monitoring hardware maybe deemed to be “within a proximity” of the user device if the userdevice is within a detection range of the monitoring hardware. Becausevarious sorts of monitoring hardware may be far away from the userdevice (e.g., satellites, drones, or other space- or air-locateddevices), the “proximity” of monitoring hardware can be determined bydetection, not spatial relationships. The server computer can beconfigured to search for monitoring hardware capable of monitoring theuser device until the monitoring hardware is identified or the userdevice no longer requests the monitoring.

Upon identifying the monitoring hardware, the server computer can issueone or more commands for initiating the monitoring, and the monitoringhardware can transmit monitoring data to the server computer and/or theuser device. The monitoring hardware can include, for example, audio,video, or photographic signals or data, presence sensor readings orinformation, location information, movement information, combinationsthereof, or the like. The server computer or other entities (e.g.,devices or technicians at a monitoring center) can analyze themonitoring data to determine if any action is to be taken. The actionscan include, for example, initiating contact with the user device,initiating contact with emergency personnel, activating lighting, video,sound, or other devices in a vicinity of the user device, combinationsthereof, or the like. These and other aspects of the concepts andtechnologies described herein for using a remotely activated monitoringservice will be illustrated and described in additional detail below.

According to one aspect of the concepts and technologies disclosedherein, a method is disclosed. The method can include detecting, at aserver computer executing a monitoring service, an event associated witha user device. The method further can include determining, by the servercomputer, that monitoring of a proximity of the user device is to beinitiated based upon the event, and determining, by the server computer,a geographic location of the user device. The method can includeidentifying, by the server computer, monitoring hardware that is tomonitor the proximity of the user device, and issuing, by the servercomputer, a command to the monitoring hardware to initiate monitoring ofthe proximity of the user device by the monitoring hardware.

In some embodiments, the method further can include determining, by theserver computer, if a prompt is to be generated at the user device. Inresponse to a determination that the prompt is to be generated, themethod can further include generating, by the server computer, amonitoring alert, and transmitting, by the server computer, themonitoring alert to the user device. The method also can includeobtaining, by the server computer, input indicating that the monitoringis to be initiated. Obtaining the input can include receiving amonitoring request from the user device. The monitoring request caninclude an explicit request generated by the user device in response todetecting an input to select an option to monitor the user device.

In some embodiments, the method also can include obtaining, by theserver computer, monitoring data generated by the monitoring hardware,and analyzing, by the server computer, the monitoring data to determineif an action is to be taken. If the server computer determines that anaction is to be taken, the method can include generating, by the servercomputer, action data indicating an action to be taken, andtransmitting, by the server computer, the action data to an entity.Transmitting the action data can include generating a request foremergency personnel at the geographic location with user data thatidentifies an entity associated with the user device. Monitoring caninclude monitoring the user device.

In some embodiments, monitoring can include monitoring an entityassociated with the user device. Identifying the monitoring hardware caninclude identifying monitoring hardware within detection range of amonitored location including the geographic location. In someembodiments, identifying the monitoring hardware can include identifyinga video device within a viewing range of the monitored location.Detecting the event can include detecting a monitoring request generatedby the user device, and the user device can include a smartphone. Insome embodiments, detecting the event can include determining a furthergeographic location of the user device, comparing the further geographiclocation to location data stored at a data store, and determining, basedupon the comparison, that the user device is at a location specified bythe location data as a location at which monitoring is to be initiated.

According to another aspect of the concepts and technologies disclosedherein, a system is disclosed. The system can include a processor and amemory. The memory can store computer-executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations.The operations can include detecting an event associated with a userdevice, determining that monitoring of a proximity of the user device isto be initiated based upon the event, determining a geographic locationof the user device, identifying monitoring hardware to monitor theproximity of the user device, and issuing, by the server computer, acommand to the monitoring hardware to initiate monitoring of theproximity of the user device by the monitoring hardware.

In some embodiments, the system further includes a data store thatstores event data generated by the monitoring service. The event datacan include preferences associated with the user device and themonitoring service, event definitions that define conditions in whichmonitoring of the proximity of the user device is to be initiated,location data defining locations at which monitoring of the proximity ofthe user device is to be initiated, and user data including datadescribing a user associated with the user device.

In some embodiments, the system can be further configured to execute thecomputer-executable instructions to perform operations further includingobtaining monitoring data generated by the monitoring hardware,analyzing the monitoring data to determine if an action is to be taken,and in response to a determination that the action is to be taken,generating action data indicating an action to be taken, andtransmitting the action data to an entity. In some embodiments, the userdevice can include a smart phone that executes an application programthat interacts with a monitoring service. In some embodiments, the smartphone executes the application program to perform operations includingdisplaying a prompt for user permission to initiate monitoring, inresponse to receiving a monitoring alert from a monitoring service,displaying a user interface control for requesting monitoring of theuser device, and generating a monitoring request based upon conditionsat the user device.

According to yet another aspect, a computer storage medium is disclosed.The computer storage medium can have computer-executable instructionsstored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processorto perform operations. The operations can include detecting an eventassociated with a user device, determining that monitoring of aproximity of the user device is to be initiated based upon the event,determining a geographic location of the user device, identifyingmonitoring hardware to monitor the proximity of the user device, andissuing a command to the monitoring hardware to initiate monitoring ofthe proximity of the user device by the monitoring hardware.

In some embodiments, the computer storage medium further includescomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor,cause the processor to perform additional operations. The additionaloperations can include obtaining monitoring data generated by themonitoring hardware, analyzing the monitoring data to determine if anaction is to be taken, and in response to a determination that theaction is to be taken, generating action data indicating an action to betaken, and transmitting the action data to an entity. In someembodiments, the computer storage medium further includescomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor,cause the processor to perform additional operations. The additionaloperations can include obtaining event data generated by a monitoringservice, and storing the event data at a data store. The event data canbe stored with data that associates the event data with the user device.

In some embodiments, the computer storage medium includescomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor,cause the processor to perform additional operations. The additionaloperations can include determining that a prompt is to be generated atthe user device. In response to a determination that the prompt is to begenerated, the processor can generate a monitoring alert, and transmitthe monitoring alert to the user device. The processor can obtain inputfrom the user device. The input can indicate that the monitoring is tobe initiated.

Other systems, methods, and/or computer program products according toembodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponreview of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, and/or computerprogram products be included within this description, be within thescope of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating an illustrative operatingenvironment for the various embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing aspects of a method for remotelyactivating a remotely activated monitoring service, according to anillustrative embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing aspects of a method for using aremotely activated monitoring service, according to another illustrativeembodiment.

FIGS. 4A-4D are user interface diagrams illustrating user interfaces forconfiguring and using a remotely activated monitoring service, accordingto some illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 4E is a user interface diagram illustrating a user interface forremotely monitoring a user device or entity associated with a userdevice, according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a network, according to an illustrativeembodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer systemconfigured to provide functionality associated with a remotely activatedmonitoring service, according to some illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example mobile deviceconfigured to interact with a remotely activated monitoring service,according to some illustrative embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is directed to a remotely activatedmonitoring service. A user device can interact with a monitoring servicehosted by a server computer. The user device and/or the server computeruser device can capture event data that can include, for example, stateinformation detected at or in a proximity of the user device, settingsor options relating to the monitoring service, preferences, eventdefinitions, location information associated with the user device orentities associated with the user device, user data, other data, or thelike. The event data can be generated at or received by the servercomputer and stored in a data storage device.

The server computer can detect an event associated with the user device.The server computer can determine, based upon the detected event and/orthe event data, if monitoring of the user device is to be initiated.Upon determining that an event or request for monitoring has occurred,the server computer can initiate monitoring of the user device orgenerate a monitoring alert that, when received by the user device,causes the user device to prompt for approval or denial of themonitoring. If monitoring is to be initiated, the server computer canidentify monitoring hardware and/or software in a proximity of the userdevice, and issue one or more commands for initiating the monitoring.

The monitoring hardware can transmit monitoring data to the servercomputer and/or the user device. The monitoring hardware can include,for example, digital or analog audio or video signals, photographicinformation, presence or orientation sensor readings or information,network communication information, location information, movementinformation, combinations thereof, or the like. The monitoring data canbe analyzed to determine if any action is to be taken. If actions are tobe taken, the server computer or other entities can generate action datafor commencing the action. The actions can include, for example,initiating contact with the user device, initiating contact withemergency personnel, activating lighting, video, sound, or other devicesin a vicinity of the user device, combinations thereof, or the like.These and other aspects of the concepts and technologies describedherein for using a remotely activated monitoring service will beillustrated and described in additional detail below.

While the subject matter described herein is presented in the generalcontext of program modules that execute in conjunction with theexecution of an operating system and application programs on a computersystem, those skilled in the art will recognize that otherimplementations may be performed in combination with other types ofprogram modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,components, data structures, and other types of structures that performparticular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the subject matterdescribed herein may be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.

Referring now to FIG. 1, aspects of an operating environment 100 forvarious embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed hereinfor providing and interacting with a remotely activated monitoringservice will be described, according to an illustrative embodiment. Theoperating environment 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a user device 102operating in communication with and/or as part of a communicationsnetwork (“network”) 104.

According to various embodiments, the functionality of the user device102 may be provided by one or more smartphones, feature phones, personaldigital assistants (“PDAs”), laptop computers, tablet computers, othermobile computing devices, a vehicle computing system, a smart watch, amobile media device, a personal tracker or safety device, othercomputing systems, combinations thereof, or the like. It should beunderstood that the functionality of the user device 102 can be providedby a single device, by two similar devices, and/or by two or moredissimilar devices. For purposes of describing the concepts andtechnologies disclosed herein, the user device 102 is described hereinas a smartphone or other form of mobile computing device. It should beunderstood that this embodiment is illustrative, and should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

The user device 102 can execute an operating system 106, one or moreapplication programs (not shown), and a monitor application 108. Theoperating system 106 is a computer program for controlling the operationof the user device 102. The application programs and the monitorapplication 108 can include executable programs configured to execute ontop of the operating system 106 to provide various functions. In someembodiments, the application programs can include, but are not limitedto, web browsers, web applications, native applications, passwordmanagement applications, electronic transaction management applications,combinations thereof, or the like. Because various forms of applicationprograms are generally understood, the application programs are notdescribed in additional detail herein.

In particular, the monitor application 108 can be configured tocommunicate with a monitoring service 110 that is hosted and/or executedby a computing system such as the server computer 112. The functionalityof the server computer 112 can be provided by one or more real orvirtual computing resources. As such, it should be understood that themonitoring service 110 can provide services to one or more users. Forexample, the monitoring service 110 can be called as a virtual serviceby a various users or devices, in some embodiments. In some embodiments,for example, various devices such as the user device 102 can call themonitoring service 110 to create monitoring rules or preferences, toactivate or deactivate the monitoring service 110, to request or createroutes using the monitoring service 110, combinations thereof, or thelike.

In the illustrated embodiment, the monitor application 108 executed bythe user device 102 can be configured to submit event data 114associated with the user device 102 to the monitoring service 110. Itshould be understood that the user device 102 can interact with themonitoring service 110 via an application program such as, for example,a web browser instead of, or in addition to, the monitor application 108to generate the event data 114 at the monitoring service 110, ifdesired. As such, the illustrated embodiments should be understood asbeing illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in anyway.

As used herein, the term “event data” and variants thereof can include,but is not necessarily limited to, data defining how and when themonitoring service 110 is to be activated. The monitoring service 110can be configured to store the event data 114 at a real or virtual datastorage location such as, for example, a memory, a server computer, adatabase, a data store, or the like. In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 1, the monitoring service 110 can be configured to store the eventdata 114 at a data store 116. The functionality of the data store 116can be provided by one or more server computers, databases, laptopcomputers, flash memory devices, hard drives, virtual storage resources,combinations thereof, or the like. The monitoring service 110 can beconfigured to generate and/or store the event data 114. The monitoringservice 110 also can be configured to access the event data 114 toprovide the functionality described herein for providing a remotelyactivated monitoring service.

As will be explained in more detail below, the monitoring service canaccess the event data 114 to determine if monitoring of a user device102 and/or a user associated with the user device 102 is to beinitiated, to determine if monitoring of the user device 102 and/or theuser is to be ended, to determine if instructions for initiating and/orterminating the monitoring are to be generated and/or propagated tomonitoring devices or systems, to determine if actions are to be takenin response to the monitoring, combinations thereof, or the like.Because the functionality described herein for providing a remotelyactivated monitoring service can be provided in a variety of ways and/orcan entail additional and/or alternative determinations, it should beunderstood that these examples are illustrative and therefore should notbe construed as being limiting in any way.

In the illustrated embodiment, the event data 114 can include, but isnot necessarily limited to, preferences 118, event definitions 120,location data 122, user data 124, other data 126, combinations thereof,or the like. Some examples of each of these types of data are describedbelow. Because the event data 114 can include these and other types ofdata and/or can omit the above types of data, it should be understoodthat these examples are illustrative and therefore should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

The preferences 118 can include, for example, user and/or softwaresettings, options, parameters, and/or other configuration informationassociated with the monitor application 108 and/or the monitoringservice 110. Various examples of the preferences 118 will be illustratedand described in additional detail herein, particularly with referenceto FIG. 4A below. Briefly, the preferences 118 can define, for example,if the monitor application 108 and/or the monitoring service 110 are tobe initiated by events detected at the monitor application 108 and/orthe monitoring service 110, if the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110 are to generate monitoring alerts, how datacommunications between the user device 102 and the monitor application108 and/or the monitoring service 110 are to be conducted, whether ornot the monitor application 108 and/or the monitoring service 110 are tosupport location-based events and/or services, if video, audio, and/orother types of monitoring are to be used and/or allowed by the monitorapplication 108 and/or the monitoring service 110, if data generated bymonitoring devices, systems, or other hardware is to be shared with themonitor application 108 and/or the monitoring service 110, if a user canexplicitly request monitoring, if functionality for generatingnavigation routes using the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110 is to be supported, other options, combinationsthereof, or the like.

The preferences 118 also can include user information such as names,login information, passwords, and/or identifying information such asphysical characteristics, address information, age information,combinations thereof, or the like (some of this data may be included inthe user data 124 described below). This information can be used byresponders, for example police, fire, and/or medical responders in theevent of an emergency, to identify the user. The preferences 118 alsocan include billing preferences, billing plans, device information,combinations thereof, or the like. Because the preferences 118 caninclude additional and/or alternative user and/or device information, itshould be understood that these examples are illustrative and thereforeshould not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The event definitions 120 can include, for example, data that definesevents to be used to initiate and/or terminate monitoring provided bythe remotely activated monitoring service. Thus, the event definitions120 can include, for example, data defining geographic locations atwhich monitoring is to be initiated or terminated, data defining timesor dates at which monitoring is to be initiated or terminated, locationdemographics and/or other considerations that, if met by a currentlocation of the user device 102 and/or a user associated with the userdevice 102, are to initiate and/or terminate monitoring, or the like.The event definitions 120 also can include data that defines othersituations or circumstances in which monitoring is to be initiatedand/or terminated.

The other situations or circumstances can include, for example, a numberof users or devices in a proximity of the user device 102, a geographiclocation of the user device 102, a particular frequency and/or volume ofaudio signals at or near the user device 102 (e.g., a siren, a burglaralarm, a gunshot, a scream, or the like), particular movements of theuser device 102 (e.g., movement associated with running or falling), orthe like. Because the situations or circumstances can include almost anydefined situations or circumstances that can be detected by hardwareand/or software associated with the user device (see FIG. 7 below), itshould be understood that these examples are illustrative and thereforeshould not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The location data 122 can indicate or represent one or more geographiclocations associated with the user device 102. The location data 122 canbe captured by the user device 102 using various location-determinationtechnologies. For example, the user device 102 can include one or moreglobal positioning system (“GPS”) receivers via which the user device102 can determine a location of the user device 102. Additionally oralternatively, the user device 102 can use one or more assisted GPS(“A-GPS”) technologies to determine location such as, for example,scanning a proximity associated with the user device 102 to determineone or more wireless network equipment identities, location beacons, orthe like in communication with the user device 102. Additionally, oralternatively, the user device 102 can execute one or more locationdetermination applications configured to determine a location of theuser device 102 by monitoring movements of the user device using varioussensors such as, for example, magnetometers, accelerometers, gyroscopes,or the like.

The user device 102 also can rely upon triangulation techniques todetermine a location associated with the user device 102. For example,the user device 102 can communicate with three or more cellular towersor other wireless transmitters and/or transceivers to determine alocation of the user device 102 using triangulation. Additionally, oralternatively, the user device 102 can obtain location data 122 from acellular network and/or other networks or devices. Because varioustechnologies and/or combinations thereof can be used to determine thelocation data 122, it should be understood that these examples areillustrative and therefore should not be construed as being limiting inany way.

The user data 124 can include, for example, data that identifies and/ordefines the user and/or users of the user device 102. The user data 124can include, but is not limited to, user information such as names,physical characteristics, address information, age information,combinations thereof, or the like. The user data 124 can include, forexample, data defining a height, weight, hair color, eye color,complexion, age, address, nickname, or the like associated with theuser. The user data 124 also can include data defining, for example,medications used by the user, allergies of the user, languages spoken bythe user, and/or other information that may assist anyone responding toan emergency associated with the user and/or the user device 102.

The user data 124 also can include biometric information such as, forexample, voiceprint information, fingerprint information, blood typeinformation, known illnesses or conditions associated with the user,combinations thereof, or the like. Because the user data 124 can includeadditional or alternative information that identifies the user and/orother information about the user, it should be understood that the aboveexamples are illustrative and therefore should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

The other data 126 can include, but is not limited to, social networkinginformation associated with a user of the user device 102,identification information associated with the user and/or otherentities or devices in a proximity associated with the user device 102,preferences associated with the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110, combinations thereof, or the like. The otherdata 126 also can include billing and/or charging preferences orinformation. Because other types of information can be used to providethe functionality described herein, it should be understood that theseexamples are illustrative and therefore should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

As noted above, the event data 114 can be stored at the data store 116and can be used by the monitor application 108 and/or the monitoringservice 110 to provide the functionality described herein. Thus, thoughnot described herein, it should be understood that the event data 114can be associated with a particular user and/or user device 102. Assuch, the monitor application 108 and/or the monitoring service 110 canaccess the event data 114 to identify preferences 118, event definitions120, location data 122, user data 124, and/or other data 126 associatedwith a particular user and/or user device 102 to provide thefunctionality described herein.

As will be explained in more detail below, the monitoring service 110can analyze the event data 114 stored at the data store 116 (orelsewhere) in conjunction with locations and/or events associated withthe user device 102 and/or a user thereof to determine if monitoring ofthe user device 102 is to be initiated or terminated. Additionally, oralternatively, the monitoring service 110 can receive an explicitrequest to initiate or terminate monitoring of the user device 102and/or a user thereof. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the monitoringservice 110 can receive a monitoring request 128, which can include anexplicit request for monitoring from the user device 102. As will beillustrated and described in more detail below, the monitoring request128 can correspond to a panic button, or the like, being selected at theuser device 102. As noted above, the monitoring request 128 also can beimplicitly generated by an event detected at the user device 102. Assuch, the illustrated embodiment should be understood as beingillustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

Upon receiving a monitoring request 128 at the monitoring service 110,or upon determining at the monitoring service 110 that monitoring of theuser device 102 and/or a user thereof is to be initiated, the monitoringservice 110 can initiate monitoring of the user device 102 and/or a userthereof. In particular, the monitoring service 110 can generate one ormore instructions or commands (“commands”) 130 that, when received bymonitoring devices, hardware, and/or systems (“monitoring hardware”)132, cause the monitoring hardware 132 to monitor the user device 102and/or a user thereof. It should be understood that the monitoringhardware 132 can be associated with a particular area, region, space,building, or other location (“monitored location”) 134 that is withinrange of one or more audio, visual, network, and/or presence sensorsassociated with the monitoring hardware 132. As such, the monitoringservice 110 can be configured to determine a location of a user device102 and/or a user thereof, to identify a monitored location 134 and/ormonitoring hardware at or near the user device 102 and/or the userthereof, and to generate the commands 130. As noted above, the commands130 can be issued to initiate monitoring by the monitoring hardware 132of the monitored location 134, the user device 102, and/or a user orother entity associated with the user device 102 that is within or nearthe monitored location 134.

According to various embodiments, the monitoring hardware 132 caninclude, but is not limited to, various monitoring devices, hardware,systems, networks, or the like. By way of example, and not limitation,the monitoring hardware 132 can include various devices associated withthe monitored location 134 such as video devices such as cameras, closedcircuit television (“CCTV”) devices, and/or other video devices such asinfrared cameras, or the like; audio sensors such as microphones, breaksensors, or the like; photography devices such as cameras, infraredimaging devices, or the like; presence sensors such as pressure sensors,radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tag sensors or readers, nearfield communication (“NFC”) devices, short- or long-range radioreceivers, transmitters, or transceivers, or the like; and/or otherdevices.

The monitoring hardware 132 also can include hardware and/or softwarethat is located remote from the monitored location 134. Thus, forexample, the monitoring hardware 132 can include aircraft equipped withsurveillance equipment such as aircraft, helicopters, drones, or thelike. The monitoring hardware 132 also can include satellites and/orsatellite imaging hardware or software, network devices, locationsensors, or the like, for identifying the user device 102 and/or a user.Because the monitoring hardware 132 can include additional and/oralternative hardware and/or software, it should be understood that theseexamples are illustrative and therefore should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

The monitoring hardware 132 and/or components thereof can be connectedvia one or more wired and/or wireless connections to the monitoringservice 110 and/or the monitor application 108. The monitoring hardware132 can generate monitoring data 136 and transmit or otherwise share themonitoring data 136 with the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110. It can be appreciated from the above descriptionof the monitoring hardware 132, that the monitoring data 136 can includedata or other information generated or sensed by the monitoring hardware132. Thus, the monitoring data 136 can include, for example, digitaland/or analog video signals; digital and/or analog audio signals;photograph and/or other image data; streaming video, audio, or imagedata; presence sensor readings; location information; network logsand/or device data; user identification information; network identifiersand/or device identifiers; other information; combinations thereof; orthe like. These and other types of data can be included in themonitoring data 136 and used by the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110 for various purposes.

In particular, the monitoring service 110 and/or other entities,software, and/or devices with access to the monitoring data 136 canmonitor the user device 102 and/or a user associated therewith byviewing and/or analyzing the monitoring data 136. Thus, for example, atechnician or hardware/software appliance reviewing the monitoring data136 can determine if an action is to be taken based upon the monitoringdata 136. For example, if the monitoring data 136 includes an analog ordigital video signal or data, the technician or appliance may determine,based upon the video, that emergency assistance is needed at the userdevice 102 and/or by a user associated with the user device 102. Assuch, the technician or appliance can generate action data 140 that canbe shared with various entities (not shown) such as emergency personnel,emergency dispatchers, contacts, or the like, to prompt a response.

In some embodiments, the action data 140 can correspond to voice or datacommunications. As such, it should be understood that the monitoringservice 110 and/or other entities can call or message responders or thelike to prompt a response such as an emergency response. As such, themonitoring data 136 can be used to monitor a user device 102 and/or auser thereof (or associated therewith) to provide a mobile monitoring,alarm, and/or response system. These and other features of the conceptsand technologies described herein will be illustrated and described inadditional detail below.

The monitoring service 110 also can be configured to generate monitoringalerts 142. The monitoring alerts 142 can be generated by the monitoringservice 110 to generate a prompt at a user device 102. The prompt can begenerated to inform a user or other entity associated with the userdevice 102 that the monitoring service 110 has detected an event definedby the user or other entity as an event that is to prompt monitoring (ora decision whether or not to monitor). Thus, for example, the monitoringservice 110 can detect that the user device 102 and/or a user thereofhas entered a location that is to be monitored and/or that one or moreevents defined by the user or other entity for initiating or terminatingmonitoring have been satisfied or met.

The user device 102 can execute the monitor application 108 to present ascreen display for prompting the user or other entity regarding themonitoring alert 142. An example of a screen display for prompting auser or other entity regarding the monitoring alert 142 is illustratedand described below with reference to FIG. 4B. Briefly, the user orother entity can be informed regarding the event(s) that have beendetected, and prompted as to whether or not monitoring is to beinitiated. If the user elects to initiate monitoring, the user device102 can transmit a monitoring request 128 to the monitoring service 110,and the monitoring service 110 can generate the commands 130 describedhereinabove. If the user elects not to initiate monitoring, the userdevice 102 can ignore the monitoring alert 142. The functionality of themonitor application 108 and/or the monitoring service 110 for providingand/or responding to the monitoring alerts 142 are illustrated anddescribed in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 2-4D.

FIG. 1 illustrates one user device 102, one network 104, one servercomputer 110, one data store 116, one instance of monitoring hardware132, and one monitored location 134. It should be understood, however,that various implementations of the operating environment 100 includezero, one, or more than one user device 102, zero, one, or more than onenetwork 104, zero, one, or more than one server computer 110, zero, one,or more than one data stores 116, zero, one, or more than one instanceof monitoring hardware 132, and/or zero, one, or more than one monitoredlocations 134. As such, the illustrated embodiment should be understoodas being illustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting inany way.

Turning now to FIG. 2, aspects of a method 200 for remotely activating aremotely activated monitoring service will be described in detail,according to an illustrative embodiment. It should be understood thatthe operations of the methods disclosed herein are not necessarilypresented in any particular order and that performance of some or all ofthe operations in an alternative order(s) is possible and iscontemplated. The operations have been presented in the demonstratedorder for ease of description and illustration. Operations may be added,omitted, and/or performed simultaneously, without departing from thescope of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein.

It also should be understood that the methods disclosed herein can beended at any time and need not be performed in its entirety. Some or alloperations of the methods, and/or substantially equivalent operations,can be performed by execution of computer-readable instructions includedon a computer storage media, as defined herein. The term“computer-readable instructions,” and variants thereof, as used herein,is used expansively to include routines, applications, applicationmodules, program modules, programs, components, data structures,algorithms, and the like. Computer-readable instructions can beimplemented on various system configurations including single-processoror multiprocessor systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, personalcomputers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based,programmable consumer electronics, combinations thereof, and the like.

Thus, it should be appreciated that the logical operations describedherein are implemented (1) as a sequence of computer implemented acts orprogram modules running on a computing system and/or (2) asinterconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within thecomputing system. The implementation is a matter of choice dependent onthe performance and other requirements of the computing system.Accordingly, the logical operations described herein are referred tovariously as states, operations, structural devices, acts, or modules.These states, operations, structural devices, acts, and modules may beimplemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic,and any combination thereof. As used herein, the phrase “cause aprocessor to perform operations” and variants thereof is used to referto causing a processor of a computing system or device, such as, forexample, the user device 102 or the server computer 112 to perform oneor more operations and/or causing the processor to direct othercomponents of the computing system or device to perform one or more ofthe operations.

For purposes of illustrating and describing the concepts of the presentdisclosure, the methods disclosed herein are described as beingperformed by the server computer 112 via execution of one or moresoftware modules such as, for example, the monitoring service 110. Itshould be understood that additional and/or alternative devices and/ornetwork nodes can provide the functionality described herein viaexecution of one or more modules, applications, and/or other softwareincluding, but not limited to, the monitoring service 110. Thus, theillustrated embodiments are illustrative, and should not be viewed asbeing limiting in any way.

The method 200 begins at operation 202. In operation 202, the servercomputer 112 detects an event associated with a device such as, forexample, the user device 102. According to various embodiments, theevent detected by the server computer 112 can include an event occurringat the user device 102, an event occurring in proximity of and/orassociated with the user device 102, an event involving a user of theuser device 102 (but not necessarily occurring at the user device 102),movement of the user device 102, a location of the user device,combinations thereof, or the like.

As such, the event detected in operation 202 can include, for example,movement of the user device 102 into or near a particular location; asound detected at or near the user device 102; communications betweenthe user device 102 and one or more devices, systems, networks, or thelike; selection of a panic button or other UI control for requestingmonitoring; receipt or generation of an explicit or implicit monitoringrequest 128; other events; combinations thereof; or the like. The eventsare not limited to these examples, and as such it should be understoodthat these examples are illustrative and should not be construed asbeing limiting in any way.

From operation 202, the method 200 can proceed to operation 204. Inoperation 204, the server computer 112 determines an event typeassociated with the event detected in operation 202. Thus, the userdevice 102 can be configured to determine, for example, if the eventdetected in operation 202 corresponds to a defined event for initiatingmonitoring of the user device 102 and/or a user thereof, and/or if theevent corresponds to an implicit or explicit request for monitoring. Itcan be appreciated that if the event detected in operation 202corresponds to an implicitly generated monitoring request 128, themonitoring service 110 may generate a monitoring alert 142 to triggerprompting of the user regarding monitoring. If the event detected inoperation 202 corresponds to an explicitly generated monitoring request128, the monitoring service 110 may determine that a monitoring alert142 is not to be triggered, and that the monitoring is to be initiatedimmediately.

From operation 204, the method 200 can proceed to operation 206. Inoperation 206, the server computer 112 can determine if monitoring is tobe initiated based upon the event detected in operation 202 and/or theevent type determined in operation 204. If the server computer 112determines, in operation 206, that the monitoring is not to beinitiated, the method 200 can return to operation 202, monitoring maynot be initiated, and the monitoring service 110 can again monitor thedevice until an event is detected in a future iteration of operation202. It should be understood that the method 200 also can end if theserver computer 112 determines, in operation 206, that the monitoring isnot be initiated, though this is not shown in FIG. 2.

If the server computer 112 determines, in operation 206, that themonitoring is to be initiated, the method 200 can proceed to operation208. According to various embodiments, the server computer 112 can beconfigured to examine one or more settings or preferences associatedwith the monitoring service 110 and/or the monitor application 108 todetermine if monitoring is to be initiated in operation 204. Accordingto some other embodiments, the server computer 112 can be configured tocompare one or more events detected in association with the user device102 to the preferences or settings such as the preferences 118 and otherevent data 114 such as the event definitions 120, the location data 122,the user data 124, and/or the other data 126 to determine if an eventdetected by the monitoring service 110 and/or the monitor application108 satisfies conditions to begin monitoring of the user device 102and/or an entity associated with the user device 102.

As such, operation 206 can correspond to the server computer 112examining the event data 114 and conditions at the user device 102and/or proximate to the user device 102 to determine if monitoring is tobe initiated. Because the server computer 112 can be configured todetermine that monitoring is to be initiated in additional and/oralternative ways, it should be understood that the above-describedexample of operation 206 is illustrative and should not be construed asbeing limiting in any way.

In some embodiments, the server computer 112 can be configured todetermine if the event detected in operation 202 is similar to ormatches any of the event definitions 120 included in the event data 114.If the server computer 112 determines that the event data 120 does notinclude a definition that is similar to or matches the event detected inoperation 202, the server computer 112 can determine that monitoring isnot to be initiated. In some embodiments, the event detected inoperation 202 can correspond to an explicit request for monitoring suchas, for example, selection of a panic button or other explicitmonitoring request 128. As such, the server computer 112 can beconfigured, in some embodiments, to determine that monitoring is to beinitiated based upon the identification of the event detected inoperation 202 as corresponding to an explicit monitoring request 128. Asnoted above, the method 200 can flow to operation 208 if the servercomputer 112 determines, in operation 206, that monitoring is to beinitiated based upon analysis of the event detected in operation 202.

In operation 208, the server computer 112 can determine if a prompt isto be generated. The prompt can ask a user or other entity if monitoringof the user device 102 and/or an entity associated with the user device102 is to be initiated. It can be appreciated that the determination inoperation 208 can correspond to the server computer 112 determining if amonitoring alert 142 is to be generated by the server computer 112. Assuch, it can be appreciated that the server computer 112 can determine,in operation 208, if a preference, configuration, setting, or otherconsideration specifies that the user or user device 102 is to beprompted prior to beginning monitoring.

In some embodiments, a user or other entity may specify that amonitoring alert 142 is to be generated and/or that a prompt indicatingthat monitoring is to be initiated prior to initiating monitoring. Thus,perceived security and/or privacy concerns can be satisfied prior toinitiating monitoring, in some embodiments. In some other embodiments, auser or other entity may specify that a monitoring alert 142 is not tobe generated in some or all situations. As such, the server computer 112can determine, in operation 208, if a prompt is to be generated basedupon these and/or other considerations.

If the server computer 112 determines, in operation 208, that a promptis not be generated, the method 200 can proceed to operation 210. If theserver computer 112 determines, in operation 208, that a prompt is begenerated, the method 200 can proceed to operation 212.

In operation 212, the server computer 112 can generate a monitoringalert 142 and transmit the monitoring alert 142 to the user device 102.As explained above, the monitoring alert 142 can be used to trigger aprompt at the user device 102 and/or to otherwise obtain input forspecifying if monitoring is to be initiated. An example of a screendisplay for presenting the prompt at a device such as the user device102 is illustrated and described in FIG. 4B below.

From operation 212, the method 200 proceeds to operation 214. Inoperation 214, the server computer 112 can determine if input associatedwith the user device 102 indicates that monitoring is to be initiated.It can be appreciated that the determination in operation 214 cancorrespond to the server computer 112 determining if the promptgenerated and transmitted in operation 212 has been affirmativelyresponded to at the user device 102 or not.

If the server computer 112 determines, in operation 214, that themonitoring is not be initiated, the method 200 can end. It should beunderstood that the method 200 can alternatively return to operation 202if the server computer 112 determines, in operation 214, that themonitoring is not be initiated, though this is not shown in FIG. 2. Ifthe server computer 112 determines, in operation 214, that themonitoring is to be initiated based upon the user input, the method 200can proceed to operation 210.

In operation 210, the server computer 112 can determine a location ofthe user device 102. In some embodiments, the server computer 112 canquery a location server or other location-based services device for alocation associated with the user device 102 to determine the locationin operation 210. In some embodiments, for example where the user device102 generates an explicit monitoring request 128, the server computer112 can receive the location with the monitoring request 128 and/or maydetermine the location based upon known or accessible information. Insome embodiments, the monitoring service 110 executed by the servercomputer 112 can communication with the user device 102 and/or themonitor application 108 executed by the user device 102 to request,receive, and/or otherwise obtain the location. Regardless of how thelocation information is obtained, it can be appreciated that the servercomputer 112 can determine a geographic location of the user device 102in operation 210.

From operation 210, the method 200 can proceed to operation 216. Inoperation 216, the server computer 112 can identify one or moremonitoring systems, devices, or networks in the proximity of the userdevice 102 and/or an entity associated with the user device 102. Thus,for example, the server computer 112 can identify, in operation 210, oneor more instances of monitoring hardware 132 at or near the user device102, at or near the monitored location 134, and/or within a detectionrange of the user device 102, the monitored location 134, and/or anentity associated with the user device 102.

In some embodiments, the server computer 112 can maintain or access adatabase or other data structure that lists or represents monitoringhardware 132 that can interact with the monitoring service 110 and/orthe user device 102 to monitor the user device 102 and/or an entityassociated with the user device 102. Because the server computer 112 canidentify the monitoring hardware 132 in a proximity of the user device102 in additional or alternative ways, it should be understood that thisexample is illustrative and therefore should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way. As used herein, monitoring hardware 132 can be in a“proximity” of the user device 102 if the user device 102 is within adetection range of the monitoring hardware 132. It can be appreciatedfrom the above description of the monitoring hardware 132 that thedistance between the monitoring hardware 132 and the user device 102 canbe substantial.

If there is no monitoring hardware 132 at or near the user device 102,the server computer 112 can be configured to identify the monitoringhardware 132 that is as close as possible (in ability to detect and/ormonitor the user device 102). Thus, if no monitoring hardware 132 isavailable, the server computer 112 can continue searching and/or issuecommands 130 until monitoring hardware 132 is available to monitor theuser device 102. It should be understood that this example isillustrative and therefore should not be construed as being limiting inany way.

From operation 216, the method 200 can proceed to operation 218. Inoperation 218, the server computer 112 can generate and issue commands130 for initiating the monitoring. As noted above, the server computer112 can issue commands 130 to the monitoring hardware 132 and/or canattempt to issue multiple commands 130 to multiple instances ofmonitoring hardware 132. The commands 130 can request monitoring of theuser device 102 or a user associated with the user device 102. Althoughnot illustrated in FIG. 2, it should be understood that the servercomputer 112 can obtain confirmation that the monitoring has beeninitiated, and may issue more than one command 130 if the confirmationis not received or until the confirmation is received.

From operation 218, the method 200 can proceed to operation 220. Themethod 200 ends at operation 220.

Turning now to FIG. 3, aspects of a method 300 for using a remotelyactivated monitoring service will be described in detail, according toan illustrative embodiment. While the method 300 is described as beingperformed by the server computer 112, it should be understood thatadditional or alternative entities can execute the operations shown inFIG. 3. As such, the illustrated embodiment is illustrative and shouldnot be construed as being limiting in any way.

The method 300 begins at operation 302. In operation 302, the servercomputer 112 obtains monitoring data 136. As explained above withreference to FIG. 1, the monitoring data 136 can be shared with theserver computer 112 and/or other entities by the monitoring hardware132. Thus, operation 302 can correspond to the server computer 112receiving the monitoring data 136 from the monitoring hardware 132. Itshould be understood that this example is illustrative and thereforeshould not be construed as being limiting in any way.

From operation 302, the method 300 can proceed to operation 304. Inoperation 304, the server computer 112 analyzes the monitoring data 136.The analysis of the monitoring data 136 can include various types ofanalysis. For example, the server computer 112 and/or other devices orsystems can analyze the monitoring data 136 to identify suspectmovements. For example, the server computer 112 or other entities canexecute algorithms that search detected movements for recognizedpatterns that indicate suspect or even criminal activity.

Additionally, or alternatively, analyzing the monitoring data 136 caninclude using facial recognition, body shape, clothing, and/or materialsrecognition techniques to track particular users and/or movements of theusers to provide monitoring as disclosed herein. Thus, the monitoringdata 136 can include video signals (analog or digital), and themonitoring can include tracking users and/or movements of the userswithin the video to provide the monitoring. In some embodiments, whereinvideo signals or data include multiple users, the server computer 112can be configured to generate a screen display for that overlaysidentity information on the video.

In particular, the video data or signals can be analyzed by the servercomputer 112, and identities of one or more people in the video can bedetermined. It should be understood that identities of some people inthe video may not be determined if those users have not opted into themonitoring service 110. At any rate, the monitoring service 110 can beconfigured to generate an overlay for the video, wherein the overlay cansuperimpose a bubble or other tag for labeling the users in the video.An example of an overlay is shown in FIG. 4E below. It should beunderstood that this example is illustrative and therefore should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

In some embodiments, the monitoring data 136 can include audio signals,in which case the server computer 112 can analyze the audio for audiothat matches defined patterns such as, for example, sirens, gunshots,screams, or the like. Still further, the monitoring data 136 can includeaccelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, and/or other orientation ormovement sensors associated with the user device 102 and/or themonitoring hardware 132.

As such, the monitoring data 136 can be analyzed to detect running orother movements that indicate suspicious activity. In still otherembodiments, the monitoring data 136 can correspond to analog or digitalvideo signals, and a user or other entity can monitor the video todetect suspicious activity. Because the server computer 112 or otherentity can analyze the monitoring data 136 in a number of ways, itshould be understood that these examples are illustrative and thereforeshould not be construed as being limiting in any way.

From operation 304, the method 300 can proceed to operation 306. Inoperation 306, the server computer 112 can determine if any action is tobe taken based upon analysis of the monitoring data 136. If the servercomputer 112 determines, in operation 306, that no action is to betaken, the method 300 can end. It should be understood that the method300 also can return to operation 302 if the server computer 112determines, in operation 306, that the monitoring data 136 does notindicate any action to be taken or indicates that no action is to betaken, though this is not shown in FIG. 3. If the server computer 112determines, in operation 306, that action is to be taken, the method 300can proceed to operation 308.

In operation 308, the server computer 112 can issue action data 140 thatdefines an action to be taken in response to the analysis of themonitoring data 136. As explained above, the action data 140 issued inoperation 308 can correspond to various forms of communications and/orcommands. For example, the action data 140 can include voice or datacommunications, commands for initiating monitoring at other locations ator near the monitoring hardware 132 that issued the monitoring data 136,requests for emergency assistance at a location associated with the userdevice 102, activation of sirens, lighting, and/or other devices,combinations thereof, or the like. As such, the monitoring data 136 canbe analyzed to monitor a user device 102 and/or an entity associatedwith the user device 102 to provide a mobile monitoring, alarm, and/orresponse system. It should be appreciated that the server computer 112can be configured to activate various types of hardware. In someembodiments, the server computer 112 is associated with a communicationsnetwork operator and as such, the server computer 112 can issuecommands, as the action data 140, for activating lighting, telephone,sound, and/or other devices across the network 104. It should beunderstood that these examples are illustrative and therefore should notbe construed as being limiting in any way.

From operation 308, the method 300 can proceed to operation 310. Themethod 300 ends at operation 310.

FIGS. 4A-4E are user interface (“UI”) diagrams showing aspects of UIsfor interacting with, configuring, and/or providing functionalityassociated with a remotely activated monitoring service, according tosome illustrative embodiments of the concepts and technologies describedherein. FIG. 4A shows an illustrative screen display 400A generated by adevice such as the user device 102. According to various embodiments,the user device 102 can generate the screen display 400A and/or otherscreen displays in conjunction with execution of the monitor application108 and/or the monitoring service 110. It should be appreciated that theUI diagram illustrated in FIG. 4A is illustrative of one contemplatedexample of the UIs and therefore should not be construed as beinglimited in any way.

The screen display 400A can include various menus and/or menu options(not shown in FIG. 4A). The screen display 400A also can include amonitoring service options screen 402, which can be interacted with by auser or other entity to configure the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110. For purposes of illustrating and describing theconcepts and technologies disclosed herein, the monitoring serviceoptions screen 402 is illustrated as showing a number of configurableoptions, which are described in additional detail below. Because optionsand/or settings associated with the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110 can be made in a variety of ways, it should beunderstood that this example is illustrative. As such, the embodimentshown in FIG. 4A should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

In the illustrated embodiment, the monitoring service options screen 402includes a number of monitoring service settings 404A-G (hereinaftercollectively and/or generically referred to as “monitoring servicesettings 404”). The monitoring service settings 404 can be interactedwith by a user or other entity to configure and/or select varioussettings associated with the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110. The various example monitoring service settings404 are described below. Because additional and/or alternative types ofmonitoring service settings 404 can be displayed and/or interacted withvia the monitoring service options screen 402, it should be understoodthat the examples of the monitoring service settings 404 shown in FIG.4A are illustrative and should not be construed as being limiting in anyway.

The monitoring service setting 404A can be used to turn on or turn offthe use of event-based monitoring. In the illustrated embodiment, a usercan select or de-select the UI control 406A to activate or deactivatethe use of event-based monitoring. It can be appreciated from thedescription herein that the selection or de-selection of the UI control406A can activate or deactivate the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110 from using events occurring at the user device102 and/or events associated with one or more users of the user device102 to generate monitoring requests 128 and/or to configure or changesettings associated with the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110. In the illustrated embodiment, the UI control406A is illustrated as being activated, which can indicate that a useror other entity has indicated that events are to be used to requestmonitoring and/or for other purposes. It should be understood that thisexample is illustrative and therefore should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

The monitoring service setting 404B can be used to enable or disablemonitoring alerts at the user device 102. As explained above, the userdevice 102 can be configured to execute the monitor application 108 togenerate alerts or warnings at the user device 102 if amonitor-triggering event is detected at or in association with the userdevice 102. Because the monitoring service options screen 402 can bepresented at the user device 102, it can be appreciated that theselection of the UI control 406B can cause the user device 102 toactivate and/or deactivate the display of alerts at the user device 102.Because the enabling or disabling of monitoring alerts can allow orprevent display or other communication of monitoring alerts atadditional and/or alternative devices, it should be understood that theillustrated example is illustrative. As such, the embodiment shown inFIG. 4B should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The monitoring service setting 404C can be used to turn on or turn offan option to restrict data communications associated with the monitorapplication 108 and/or the monitoring service 110 to WiFi. Thus,selection of the UI control 406C can cause the user device 102 toactivate and/or deactivate usage of cellular data networks and/or otherdata networks or connections for transmitting data associated with themonitor application 108 and/or the monitoring service 110 to or from theuser device 102 and/or other networks, systems, and/or devices. Becauseother monitoring service settings 404 can be displayed for furtherrestricting and/or configuring data communications over variousnetworks, it should be understood that this example is illustrative andtherefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The monitoring service setting 404D can be used to enable or disablelocation-based services associated with the monitor application 108and/or the monitoring service 110. Thus, the monitoring service setting404D can be interacted with by a user or other entity to enable ordisable the use of the location data 122 described in FIG. 1 and/orother location information. Thus, selection or deselection of themonitoring service setting 404D can cause the monitor application 108and/or the monitoring service 110 to enable or disable the detectionand/or use of location-based events when generating or detecting eventsthat are to initiate or terminate monitoring. Thus, selection of the UIcontrol 406D can cause the user device 102 to activate and/or deactivateusage of location data by the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110. It should be understood that this example isillustrative and therefore should not be construed as being limiting inany way.

The monitoring service setting 404E can be used to turn on or turn offusage of video devices by the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110. As explained above, the monitor application 108and/or the monitoring service 110 can be configured to identifyvideo-capable devices in a visual range of the user device 102.According to various embodiments, these devices can be identified bysearching a database located at or in communication with the user device102 and/or the server computer 112, by requesting identification of thevideo-capable devices, and/or in other ways. Users or other entities maywish to enable or disable the use of video to enhance battery life ofthe user device 102, to address security or privacy concerns, and/or forother reasons. Thus, selection of the UI control 406E can cause the userdevice 102 to activate and/or deactivate usage of video by the monitorapplication 108 and/or the monitoring service 110. It should beunderstood that this example is illustrative and therefore should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

The monitoring service setting 404F can be used to turn on or turn offsharing of monitoring data 136 with the monitor application 108 and/orthe monitoring service 110. As explained above, the monitoring service110 and/or the monitor application 108 can be configured to accessmonitoring hardware 132 in or near a monitored location 134, and toshare monitoring data 136 generated by the monitoring hardware 132 withthe monitoring service 110 and/or the monitor application 108. Users orother entities may wish to disable this capability to address privacyconcerns and/or for other reasons. Thus, selection of the UI control406F can cause the user device 102 to activate and/or deactivate sharingof the monitoring data 136 with the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110 and instead may restrict the information providedto the monitor application 108 and/or the monitoring service 110 to dataobtained at the user device 102. It should be understood that thisexample is illustrative and therefore should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

The monitoring service setting 404G can be used to turn on or turn offan option for allowing local activation of the monitoring service 110.As explained above, the monitor application 108 and/or the monitoringservice 110 can be configured to support implicitly and/or explicitlygenerated monitoring requests such as the monitoring requests 128. Useractivation can correspond to explicit monitoring requests 128. Users orother entities may wish to disable the ability to allow user-generatedmonitoring requests 128 for various reasons (e.g., to enhance batterylife of the user device 102, to reduce data usage and/or transfers, toaddress security or privacy concerns, other reasons, or the like). Thus,selection of the UI control 406G can cause the user device 102 toactivate and/or deactivate user-generated monitoring requests 128. Itshould be understood that this example is illustrative and thereforeshould not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The monitoring service setting 404H can be used to enable or disable amonitored routing feature associated with the monitor application 108and/or the monitoring service 110. In particular, some embodiments ofthe monitor application 108 and/or the monitoring service 110 can beconfigured to support routing requests that route users through or nearareas with monitoring hardware 132 and/or the ability to monitor theuser device 102. In one embodiment, the monitor application 108 and/orthe monitoring service 110 can be configured to interact with a mappingor routing application or service to provide walking, riding, driving,and/or transit directions along routes and/or through areas having amaximized amount of monitoring hardware 132.

As such, users can generate routes through or along paths having amaximized amount of monitoring available. Users or other entities maywish to disable the ability to allow monitored routing to enhancebattery life of the user device 102, to reduce data usage and/or datatransfer costs associated with the user device 102, to address perceivedsecurity or privacy concerns, other reasons, or the like. Thus,selection of the UI control 406H can cause the user device 102 toactivate and/or deactivate monitored routing features associated withthe monitor application 108 and/or the monitoring service 110. It shouldbe understood that this example is illustrative and therefore should notbe construed as being limiting in any way.

The monitoring service options screen 402 also can display a UI control408 for indicating that configuration of the monitor application 108and/or the monitoring service 110 is complete and a UI control 410 forindicating that a user or other entity wishes to exit the configurationscreen without saving any changes made. Because other UI controls can bedisplayed in addition to, or instead of the illustrated examples, itshould be understood that the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG. 4A isillustrative, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting inany way.

It can be appreciated that selection of the UI control 408 can cause theuser device 102 to pass one or more preferences to the monitorapplication 108 and/or to cause the user device 102 to transmit one ormore preferences to the monitoring service 110, if desired. The settingsor preferences can be used, for example, in execution of operation 206of the method 200 described above with reference to FIG. 2 and/oroperation 306 of the method 300 described above with reference to FIG.3. It should be understood that this example is illustrative andtherefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

Referring now to FIG. 4B, a UI diagram showing additional aspects of theconcepts and technologies disclosed herein for configuring and/orinteracting with a remotely activated monitoring service are describedin detail. In particular, FIG. 4B shows an illustrative screen display400B generated by a device such as the user device 102. It should beappreciated that the UI diagram illustrated in FIG. 4B is illustrativeof one contemplated example of a UI and therefore should not beconstrued as being limited in any way. As shown in FIG. 4B, the screendisplay 400B can be presented on a mobile computing device such as asmartphone, if desired. It should be understood that this example isillustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The screen display 400B can be displayed by the user device 102, forexample, in response to receiving a monitoring alert 142 at the userdevice 102. In the illustrated embodiment, the screen display 400Bincludes a monitoring alert screen 412. The monitoring alert screen 412can be displayed at the user device 102 to inform a user or other entitythat the monitor application 108 and/or the monitoring service 110 hasdetected an event that is to initiate or terminate monitoring asdescribed herein. It should be understood that the illustratedembodiment is illustrative of one contemplated monitoring alert screen412 and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The monitoring alert screen 412 can include an indication that themonitor application 108 and/or the monitoring service 110 has/havedetected a monitoring request 128. In the illustrated embodiment, theindication states that an event or event data has triggered a monitoringrequest 128 due to particular event parameters being satisfied orfailing to be satisfied. From the above description, it can beappreciated that any number of events and/or event parameters cantrigger the monitoring request 128, and as such, the illustratedembodiment is merely illustrated of a single contemplated example forpurposes of illustrating and describing the concepts and technologiesdescribed herein.

In the illustrated monitoring alert screen 412, two parameters areillustrated as being met or failing to be met. In particular, theillustrated monitoring alert screen 412 includes two parameterindicators 414. The illustrated parameter indicators 414 include anindication that the user device 102 and/or a user associated with theuser device 102 is entering a high-crime area, e.g., an area with a highcrime rate relative to other areas near the user device 102 and/or theuser, and an indicator that a current time of day matches a definedparameter. With regard to the time of day, the user or another entitymay specify that monitoring is to be triggered if a user enters an areawith a high crime rate after nightfall or on a particular date or withina date range. As mentioned above, these examples are merely illustrativeand therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The monitoring alert screen 412 also can include a UI control 416 forselecting an option to initiate monitoring of the user device 102 and/ora user associated with the user device 102. As such, selection of the UIcontrol 416 can prompt the user device 102 to generate a monitoringrequest 128 as illustrated and described above. The monitoring alertscreen 412 also can include a UI control 418 for indicating that a useror other entity wishes to dismiss or ignore the monitoring alert 142.Because other UI controls can be displayed in addition to, or instead ofthe illustrated examples, it should be understood that the illustratedembodiment shown in FIG. 4B is illustrative and should not be construedas being limiting in any way.

Turning now to FIG. 4C, a UI diagram showing additional aspects of theconcepts and technologies disclosed herein for interacting with and/orproviding functionality associated with a remotely activated monitoringservice are described in detail. In particular, FIG. 4C shows anillustrative screen display 400C generated by and/or presented at adevice such as the user device 102. It should be appreciated that the UIdiagram illustrated in FIG. 4C is illustrative of one contemplatedexample of a UI that can be generated by the user device 102 andtherefore should not be construed as being limited in any way. As shownin FIG. 4C, the screen display 400C can be presented on a mobilecomputing device such as a smartphone, if desired. It should beunderstood that this example is illustrative, and should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

The screen display 400C can include a map or route display (“mapdisplay”) 420. In some embodiments, the map display 420 can be generatedby the user device 102 and/or the server computer 112 in response toreceiving a request to generate a route in conjunction with a monitorapplication 108 and/or am monitoring service 110. The map display 420can display a navigation route. The map display 420 includes a currentlocation indicator 422 and two location indicators 424A-B (hereinaftercollectively and/or generically referred to as “location indicators424”). Of course, the map display 420 can include two, more than two, orless than two location indicators 424. As such, it should be understoodthat the embodiment shown in FIG. 4C is illustrative, and should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

The two location indicators 424 can correspond, for example, to a startlocation and an end location, if desired. As shown in FIG. 4C, the mapdisplay 420 also can show one or more determined routes between the twoor more locations corresponding to the location indicators 424. Inparticular, the map display 420 shows a first route 426A and a secondroute 426B. The first route 426A can take into account one or morerouting constraints such as, for example, the presence of monitoringhardware 132 along or within monitoring range of the first route 426A.The second route 426B may correspond, for example, to a quickest,shortest, least expensive, or other route between the two locationscorresponding to the location indicators 424. As shown in FIG. 4C, themap display 420 can include a visual indicator such as shading, or thelike, for indicating that the first route 426A and/or the second route426B meets or fails to meet a routing constraint. It should beunderstood that this embodiment is illustrative, and should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

As such, it can be appreciated that a user or other entity can use themonitor application 108 and/or the monitoring service 110 to generateone or more routes between two or more locations, taking into accountthe availability of monitoring hardware 132 along one or more routesbetween the two or more locations. As such, a monitoring request 128such as that shown in FIG. 1 can correspond, in some embodiments, to arouting request generated by the user device 102 and/or other devices.

Turning now to FIG. 4D, a UI diagram showing additional aspects of theconcepts and technologies disclosed herein for interacting with and/orproviding functionality associated with a remotely activated monitoringservice are described in detail. In particular, FIG. 4D shows anillustrative screen display 400D generated by and/or presented at adevice such as the user device 102 via execution and/or interaction witha monitor application 108 and/or a monitoring service 110. It should beappreciated that the UI diagram illustrated in FIG. 4D is illustrativeof one contemplated example of a UI that can be generated by the userdevice 102 and therefore should not be construed as being limited in anyway. As shown in FIG. 4D, the screen display 400D can be presented on amobile computing device such as a smartphone, if desired. It should beunderstood that this example is illustrative, and should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

As shown in FIG. 4D, the screen display 400D can include a lock screen428. Because lock screens such as the lock screen 428 are generallyunderstood, the lock screen 428 will not be described in further detailherein. The lock screen 428 can include a UI control 430 for unlockingthe user device 102, a UI control 432 for generating a monitoringrequest 128, and/or other UI controls or options (not shown in FIG. 4D).It can be appreciated that the UI control 432 may be displayed anytimethe lock screen 428 is displayed by the user device 102, in someembodiments. In some other embodiments, the UI control 432 may bedisplayed only if the lock screen 128 is being displayed by a userdevice 102 within a defined period of time after receiving a monitoringalert 142 such as the monitoring alert 142 illustrated and described inFIGS. 1 and 4C above. It should be understood that this example isillustrative and therefore should not be construed as being limiting inany way.

In some embodiments, the UI control 432 can be displayed by the userdevice 102 to enable a user or other entity associated with the userdevice 102 to activate the monitor application 108 and/or the monitoringservice 110. As noted above, the UI control 432 can be displayed afterthe user device 102 receives a monitoring alert 142 to allow a user orother entity to activate the monitor application 108 and/or themonitoring service 110. In some embodiments, the UI control 432 can bedisplayed on the lock screen 428 and/or on another display presented atthe user device 102 for a period of time after the user device receivesthe monitoring alert 142. In some embodiments, the period of timeincludes ten seconds, thirty seconds, one minute, five minutes, tenminutes, or another time period. It should be understood that theseexamples are illustrative and therefore should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

In some embodiments, the UI control 432 can be displayed on the lockscreen 428 and/or on another display presented at the user device 102 aslong as the user device 102 is within a defined distance of a locationat which the monitoring alert 142 was received by the user device 102.As such, some embodiments of the concepts and technologies describedherein include setting up a geofence when the user device 102 receivesthe monitoring alert 142, and presenting the UI control 432 until theuser device 102 leaves an area within the geofence and/or a defineddistance from the geofence. In some embodiments, the predefined distanceincludes one meter, ten meters, ten feet, fifty feet, fifty meters, onehundred feet, one hundred meters, a tenth of a mile, one mile, oranother distance. It should be understood that these examples areillustrative and therefore should not be construed as being limiting inany way.

Selection of the UI control 432 via the lock screen 428 can prompt theuser device 102 to generate a monitoring request 128, if desired. Assuch, it can be appreciated that a user or other entity can access thefunctionality described herein for interacting with and/or activating aremotely activated monitoring service even if the user device 102 islocked. Thus, embodiments of the concepts and technologies describedherein can provide a user or other entity with the ability to easilyand/or quickly activate and/or request activation of the monitoringservice 110 and/or the monitor application 108. It should be understoodthat these examples are illustrative and therefore should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

Turning now to FIG. 4E, a UI diagram showing additional aspects of theconcepts and technologies disclosed herein for interacting with and/orproviding functionality associated with a remotely activated monitoringservice are described in detail. In particular, FIG. 4E shows anillustrative screen display 400E generated by and/or presented at adevice such as the server computer 112 via execution and/or interactionwith a monitoring service 110 and/or monitoring hardware 132. It shouldbe appreciated that the UI diagram illustrated in FIG. 4E isillustrative of one contemplated example of a UI that can be generatedby the sever computer 112 and therefore should not be construed as beinglimited in any way.

As shown in FIG. 4E, the screen display 400E can include a video signalor data (“video”) 440. The server computer 112 can analyze the video 440as part of analyzing the monitoring data 136 as described above withreference to FIG. 3. The server computer 112 can generate an overlay forthe video 440 and/or embed data in the video 440 for labeling people inthe video 440. Thus, a monitor or technician can watch the user who hasrequested monitoring and/or spot the user in the video in circumstancesin which multiple users are present. It should be understood that thisexample is illustrative, and should not be construed as being limitingin any way.

Turning now to FIG. 5, additional details of the network 104 areillustrated, according to an illustrative embodiment. The network 104includes a cellular network 502, a packet data network 504, for example,the Internet, and a circuit switched network 506, for example, apublicly switched telephone network (“PSTN”). The cellular network 502includes various components such as, but not limited to, basetransceiver stations (“BTSs”), Node-B's or e-Node-B's, base stationcontrollers (“BSCs”), radio network controllers (“RNCs”), mobileswitching centers (“MSCs”), mobile management entities (“MMEs”), shortmessage service centers (“SMSCs”), multimedia messaging service centers(“MMSCs”), home location registers (“HLRs”), home subscriber servers(“HSSs”), visitor location registers (“VLRs”), charging platforms,billing platforms, voicemail platforms, GPRS core network components,location service nodes, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (“IMS”), and thelike. The cellular network 502 also includes radios and nodes forreceiving and transmitting voice, data, and combinations thereof to andfrom radio transceivers, networks, the packet data network 504, and thecircuit switched network 506.

A mobile communications device 508, such as, for example, a cellulartelephone, a user equipment, a mobile terminal, a PDA, a laptopcomputer, a handheld computer, and combinations thereof, can beoperatively connected to the cellular network 502. The cellular network502 can be configured as a 2G GSM network and can provide datacommunications via GPRS and/or EDGE. Additionally, or alternatively, thecellular network 502 can be configured as a 3G UMTS network and canprovide data communications via the HSPA protocol family, for example,HSDPA, EUL (also referred to as HSUPA), and HSPA+. The cellular network502 also is compatible with 4G mobile communications standards such asLTE, or the like, as well as evolved and future mobile standards.

The packet data network 504 includes various devices, for example,servers, computers, databases, and other devices in communication withanother, as is generally known. The packet data network 504 devices areaccessible via one or more network links. The servers often storevarious files that are provided to a requesting device such as, forexample, a computer, a terminal, a smartphone, or the like. Typically,the requesting device includes software (a “browser”) for executing aweb page in a format readable by the browser or other software. Otherfiles and/or data may be accessible via “links” in the retrieved files,as is generally known. In some embodiments, the packet data network 504includes or is in communication with the Internet. The circuit switchednetwork 506 includes various hardware and software for providing circuitswitched communications. The circuit switched network 506 may include,or may be, what is often referred to as a plain old telephone system(POTS). The functionality of a circuit switched network 506 or othercircuit-switched network are generally known and will not be describedherein in detail.

The illustrated cellular network 502 is shown in communication with thepacket data network 504 and a circuit switched network 506, though itshould be appreciated that this is not necessarily the case. One or moreInternet-capable devices 510, for example, a PC, a laptop, a portabledevice, or another suitable device, can communicate with one or morecellular networks 502, and devices connected thereto, through the packetdata network 504. It also should be appreciated that theInternet-capable device 510 can communicate with the packet data network504 through the circuit switched network 506, the cellular network 502,and/or via other networks (not illustrated).

As illustrated, a communications device 512, for example, a telephone,facsimile machine, modem, computer, or the like, can be in communicationwith the circuit switched network 506, and therethrough to the packetdata network 504 and/or the cellular network 502. It should beappreciated that the communications device 512 can be anInternet-capable device, and can be substantially similar to theInternet-capable device 510. In the specification, the network 104 isused to refer broadly to any combination of the networks 502, 504, 506.It should be appreciated that substantially all of the functionalitydescribed with reference to the network 104 can be performed by thecellular network 502, the packet data network 504, and/or the circuitswitched network 506, alone or in combination with other networks,network elements, and the like.

According to various implementations of the concepts and technologiesdescribed herein, the user device 102 can use any combination of thedevices disclosed herein including, but not limited to, the mobiledevice 508, the Internet capable device 510, and/or the communicationdevice 512 to access web pages or other resources; to access the servercomputer 112; to transmit and/or receive the event data 114; to transmitand/or receive the monitoring requests 128 and/or the monitoring alerts142; and/or for other interactions between the user device 102 and theserver computer 112. As such, it should be understood that the userdevice 102 can interact with the server computer 112 via any numberand/or combination of devices and networks. It should be understood thatthese examples are illustrative and therefore should not be construed asbeing limiting in any way.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a computer system 600 configuredto provide the functionality described herein for providing and/orinteracting with a remotely activated monitoring service, in accordancewith various embodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosedherein. The computer system 600 includes a processing unit 602, a memory604, one or more user interface devices 606, one or more input/output(“I/O”) devices 608, and one or more network devices 610, each of whichis operatively connected to a system bus 612. The bus 612 enablesbi-directional communication between the processing unit 602, the memory604, the user interface devices 606, the I/O devices 608, and thenetwork devices 610.

The processing unit 602 may be a standard central processor thatperforms arithmetic and logical operations, a more specific purposeprogrammable logic controller (“PLC”), a programmable gate array, orother type of processor known to those skilled in the art and suitablefor controlling the operation of the server computer. Processing unitsare generally known, and therefore are not described in further detailherein.

The memory 604 communicates with the processing unit 602 via the systembus 612. In some embodiments, the memory 604 is operatively connected toa memory controller (not shown) that enables communication with theprocessing unit 602 via the system bus 612. The memory 604 includes anoperating system 614 and one or more program modules 616. The operatingsystem 614 can include, but is not limited to, members of the WINDOWS,WINDOWS CE, and/or WINDOWS MOBILE families of operating systems fromMICROSOFT CORPORATION, the LINUX family of operating systems, theSYMBIAN family of operating systems from SYMBIAN LIMITED, the BREWfamily of operating systems from QUALCOMM CORPORATION, the MAC OS, iOS,and/or LEOPARD families of operating systems from APPLE CORPORATION, theFREEBSD family of operating systems, the SOLARIS family of operatingsystems from ORACLE CORPORATION, other operating systems, and the like.

The program modules 616 may include various software and/or programmodules described herein. In some embodiments, for example, the programmodules 616 include the monitoring service 110. This and/or otherprograms can be embodied in computer-readable media containinginstructions that, when executed by the processing unit 602, perform oneor more of the methods 200, 300 described in detail above with respectto FIGS. 2-3. According to some embodiments, the program modules 616 maybe embodied in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.Additionally, the program modules 616 can be distributed across multipledata storage devices and/or executed by multiple processing devices, insome implementations. Although not shown in FIG. 6, it should beunderstood that the memory 604 also can be configured to store the eventdata 114, the monitoring requests 128, the commands 130, the monitoringdata 136, the action data 140, the monitoring alerts 142, and/or otherdata, if desired.

By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media mayinclude any available computer storage media or communication media thatcan be accessed by the computer system 600. Communication media includescomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or othertransport mechanism and includes any delivery media. The term “modulateddata signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristicschanged or set in a manner as to encode information in the signal. Byway of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wiredmedia such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wirelessmedia such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within thescope of computer-readable media.

Computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes, but isnot limited to, RAM, ROM, Erasable Programmable ROM (“EPROM”),Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (“EEPROM”), flash memory or othersolid state memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (“DVD”),or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich can be used to store the desired information and which can beaccessed by the computer system 600. In the claims, the phrase “computerstorage medium” and variations thereof does not include waves or signalsper se and/or communication media as defined herein.

The user interface devices 606 may include one or more devices withwhich a user accesses the computer system 600. The user interfacedevices 606 may include, but are not limited to, computers, servers,personal digital assistants, cellular phones, or any suitable computingdevices. The I/O devices 608 enable a user to interface with the programmodules 616. In one embodiment, the I/O devices 608 are operativelyconnected to an I/O controller (not shown) that enables communicationwith the processing unit 602 via the system bus 612. The I/O devices 608may include one or more input devices, such as, but not limited to, akeyboard, a mouse, or an electronic stylus. Further, the I/O devices 608may include one or more output devices, such as, but not limited to, adisplay screen or a printer.

The network devices 610 enable the computer system 600 to communicatewith other networks or remote systems via a network, such as the network104. Examples of the network devices 610 include, but are not limitedto, a modem, a radio frequency (“RF”) or infrared (“IR”) transceiver, atelephonic interface, a bridge, a router, or a network card. The network104 may include a wireless network such as, but not limited to, aWireless Local Area Network (“WLAN”) such as a WiFi network, a WirelessWide Area Network (“WWAN”), a Wireless Personal Area Network (“WPAN”)such as BLUETOOTH, a Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (“WMAN”) such aWiMAX network, or a cellular network. Alternatively, the network 104 maybe a wired network such as, but not limited to, a Wide Area Network(“WAN”) such as the Internet, a Local Area Network (“LAN”) such as theEthernet, a wired Personal Area Network (“PAN”), or a wired MetropolitanArea Network (“MAN”).

Turning now to FIG. 7, an illustrative mobile device 700 and componentsthereof will be described. In some embodiments, the user device 102described above with reference to FIGS. 1-5 can be configured as and/orcan have an architecture similar or identical to the mobile device 700described herein in FIG. 7. It should be understood, however, that theuser device 102 may or may not include the functionality describedherein with reference to FIG. 7. While connections are not shown betweenthe various components illustrated in FIG. 7, it should be understoodthat some, none, or all of the components illustrated in FIG. 7 can beconfigured to interact with one other to carry out various devicefunctions. In some embodiments, the components are arranged so as tocommunicate via one or more busses (not shown). Thus, it should beunderstood that FIG. 7 and the following description are intended toprovide a general understanding of a suitable environment in whichvarious aspects of embodiments can be implemented, and should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the mobile device 700 can include a display702 for displaying data. According to various embodiments, the display702 can be configured to display monitoring information, monitoringalerts, account information, various graphical user interface (“GUI”)elements, text, images, video, virtual keypads and/or keyboards,messaging data, notification messages, metadata, internet content,device status, time, date, calendar data, device preferences, map andlocation data, combinations thereof, and/or the like. The mobile device700 also can include a processor 704 and a memory or other data storagedevice (“memory”) 706. The processor 704 can be configured to processdata and/or can execute computer-executable instructions stored in thememory 706. The computer-executable instructions executed by theprocessor 704 can include, for example, an operating system 708, one ormore applications 710 such as the monitor application 108, othercomputer-executable instructions stored in a memory 708, or the like. Insome embodiments, the applications 706 also can include a UI application(not illustrated in FIG. 7).

The UI application can interface with the operating system 708, such asthe operating system 106 shown in FIG. 1, to facilitate user interactionwith functionality and/or data stored at the mobile device 700 and/orstored elsewhere. In some embodiments, the operating system 708 caninclude a member of the SYMBIAN OS family of operating systems fromSYMBIAN LIMITED, a member of the WINDOWS MOBILE OS and/or WINDOWS PHONEOS families of operating systems from MICROSOFT CORPORATION, a member ofthe PALM WEBOS family of operating systems from HEWLETT PACKARDCORPORATION, a member of the BLACKBERRY OS family of operating systemsfrom RESEARCH IN MOTION LIMITED, a member of the IOS family of operatingsystems from APPLE INC., a member of the ANDROID OS family of operatingsystems from GOOGLE INC., and/or other operating systems. Theseoperating systems are merely illustrative of some contemplated operatingsystems that may be used in accordance with various embodiments of theconcepts and technologies described herein and therefore should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

The UI application can be executed by the processor 704 to aid a user inentering content, answering/initiating calls, entering/deleting data,entering and setting user IDs and passwords for device access,configuring settings, manipulating address book content and/or settings,displaying monitoring alerts 142, generating monitoring requests 128,configuring and/or interacting with the monitor application 108 and/orthe monitoring service 110, multimode interactions, interacting withother applications 710, and otherwise facilitating user interaction withthe operating system 708, the applications 710, and/or other types orinstances of data 712 that can be stored at the mobile device 700. Thedata 712 can include, for example, event data 114, monitoring data 136,action data 140, and/or other applications or program modules.

According to various embodiments, the data 712 can include, for example,presence applications, visual voice mail applications, messagingapplications, text-to-speech and speech-to-text applications, add-ons,plug-ins, email applications, music applications, video applications,camera applications, monitoring or security applications, location-basedservice applications, power conservation applications, gameapplications, productivity applications, entertainment applications,enterprise applications, combinations thereof, and the like. Theapplications 710, the data 712, and/or portions thereof can be stored inthe memory 706 and/or in a firmware 714, and can be executed by theprocessor 704. The firmware 714 also can store code for execution duringdevice power up and power down operations. It can be appreciated thatthe firmware 714 can be stored in a volatile or non-volatile datastorage device including, but not limited to, the memory 706 and/or aportion thereof.

The mobile device 700 also can include an input/output (“I/O”) interface716. The I/O interfaced 716 can be configured to support theinput/output of data such as location information, monitoringinformation, video or images, user information, organizationinformation, presence status information, user IDs, passwords, andapplication initiation (start-up) requests. In some embodiments, the I/Ointerface 716 can include a hardwire connection such as a universalserial bus (“USB”) port, a mini-USB port, a micro-USB port, an audiojack, a PS2 port, an IEEE 1394 (“FIREWIRE”) port, a serial port, aparallel port, an Ethernet (RJ411) port, an RJ11 port, a proprietaryport, combinations thereof, or the like. In some embodiments, the mobiledevice 700 can be configured to synchronize with another device totransfer content to and/or from the mobile device 700.

In some embodiments, the mobile device 700 can be configured to receiveupdates to one or more of the applications 710 via the I/O interface716, though this is not necessarily the case. In some embodiments, theI/O interface 716 accepts I/O devices such as keyboards, keypads, mice,interface tethers, printers, plotters, external storage,touch/multi-touch screens, touch pads, trackballs, joysticks,microphones, remote control devices, displays, projectors, medicalequipment (e.g., stethoscopes, heart monitors, and other health metricmonitors), modems, routers, external power sources, docking stations,combinations thereof, and the like. It should be appreciated that theI/O interface 716 may be used for communications between the mobiledevice 700 and a network device or local device.

The mobile device 700 also can include a communications component 718.The communications component 718 can be configured to interface with theprocessor 704 to facilitate wired and/or wireless communications withone or more networks such as the network 104 described herein. In someembodiments, other networks include networks that utilize non-cellularwireless technologies such as WiFi or WIMAX. In some embodiments, thecommunications component 718 includes a multimode communicationssubsystem for facilitating communications via the cellular network andone or more other networks.

The communications component 718, in some embodiments, includes one ormore transceivers. The one or more transceivers, if included, can beconfigured to communicate over the same and/or different wirelesstechnology standards with respect to one another. For example, in someembodiments one or more of the transceivers of the communicationscomponent 718 may be configured to communicate using GSM, CDMAONE,CDMA2000, LTE, and various other 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 4G, 5G, and greatergeneration technology standards. Moreover, the communications component718 may facilitate communications over various channel access methods(which may or may not be used by the aforementioned standards)including, but not limited to, TDMA, FDMA, W-CDMA, OFDM, SDMA, and thelike.

In addition, the communications component 718 may facilitate datacommunications using GPRS, EDGE, the HSPA protocol family includingHSDPA, EUL or otherwise termed HSUPA, HSPA+, LTE, and various othercurrent and future wireless data access standards. In the illustratedembodiment, the communications component 718 can include a firsttransceiver (“TxRx”) 720A that can operate in a first communicationsmode (e.g., GSM). The communications component 718 also can include anN^(th) transceiver (“TxRx”) 720N that can operate in a secondcommunications mode relative to the first transceiver 720A (e.g., UMTS).While two transceivers 720A-N (hereinafter collectively and/orgenerically referred to as “transceivers 720”) are shown in FIG. 7, itshould be appreciated that less than two, two, and/or more than twotransceivers 720 can be included in the communications component 718.

The communications component 718 also can include an alternativetransceiver (“Alt TxRx”) 722 for supporting other types and/or standardsof communications. According to various contemplated embodiments, thealternative transceiver 722 can communicate using various communicationstechnologies such as, for example, WiFi, WIMAX, BLUETOOTH, infrared,infrared data association (“IRDA”), near field communications (“NFC”),other RF technologies, combinations thereof, and the like. In someembodiments, the communications component 718 also can facilitatereception from terrestrial radio networks, digital satellite radionetworks, internet-based radio service networks, combinations thereof,and the like. The communications component 718 can process data from anetwork such as the Internet, an intranet, a broadband network, a WiFihotspot, an Internet service provider (“ISP”), a digital subscriber line(“DSL”) provider, a broadband provider, combinations thereof, or thelike.

The mobile device 700 also can include one or more sensors 724. Thesensors 724 can include temperature sensors, light sensors, air qualitysensors, movement sensors, orientation sensors, noise sensors, proximitysensors, or the like. As such, it should be understood that the sensors724 can include, but are not limited to, accelerometers, magnetometers,gyroscopes, infrared sensors, noise sensors, microphones, combinationsthereof, or the like. Additionally, audio capabilities for the mobiledevice 700 may be provided by an audio I/O component 726. The audio I/Ocomponent 726 of the mobile device 700 can include one or more speakersfor the output of audio signals, one or more microphones for thecollection and/or input of audio signals, and/or other audio inputand/or output devices.

The illustrated mobile device 700 also can include a subscriber identitymodule (“SIM”) system 728. The SIM system 728 can include a universalSIM (“USIM”), a universal integrated circuit card (“UICC”) and/or otheridentity devices. The SIM system 728 can include and/or can be connectedto or inserted into an interface such as a slot interface 730. In someembodiments, the slot interface 730 can be configured to acceptinsertion of other identity cards or modules for accessing various typesof networks. Additionally, or alternatively, the slot interface 730 canbe configured to accept multiple subscriber identity cards. Becauseother devices and/or modules for identifying users and/or the mobiledevice 700 are contemplated, it should be understood that theseembodiments are illustrative, and should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

The mobile device 700 also can include an image capture and processingsystem 732 (“image system”). The image system 732 can be configured tocapture or otherwise obtain photos, videos, and/or other visualinformation. As such, the image system 732 can include cameras, lenses,charge-coupled devices (“CCDs”), combinations thereof, or the like. Themobile device 700 may also include a video system 734. The video system734 can be configured to capture, process, record, modify, and/or storevideo content. Photos and videos obtained using the image system 732 andthe video system 734, respectively, may be added as message content toan MMS message, email message, and sent to another mobile device. Thevideo and/or photo content also can be shared with other devices viavarious types of data transfers via wired and/or wireless communicationdevices as described herein.

The mobile device 700 also can include one or more location components736. The location components 736 can be configured to send and/orreceive signals to determine a geographic location of the mobile device700. According to various embodiments, the location components 736 cansend and/or receive signals from global positioning system (“GPS”)devices, assisted-GPS (“A-GPS”) devices, WiFi/WIMAX and/or cellularnetwork triangulation data, combinations thereof, and the like. Thelocation component 736 also can be configured to communicate with thecommunications component 718 to retrieve triangulation data fordetermining a location of the mobile device 700.

In some embodiments, the location component 736 can interface withcellular network nodes, telephone lines, satellites, locationtransmitters and/or beacons, wireless network transmitters andreceivers, combinations thereof, and the like. In some embodiments, thelocation component 736 can include and/or can communicate with one ormore of the sensors 724 such as a compass, an accelerometer, and/or agyroscope to determine the orientation of the mobile device 700. Usingthe location component 736, the mobile device 700 can generate and/orreceive data to identify its geographic location, or to transmit dataused by other devices to determine the location of the mobile device700. The location component 736 may include multiple components fordetermining the location and/or orientation of the mobile device 700.

The illustrated mobile device 700 also can include a power source 738.The power source 738 can include one or more batteries, power supplies,power cells, and/or other power subsystems including alternating current(“AC”) and/or direct current (“DC”) power devices. The power source 738also can interface with an external power system or charging equipmentvia a power I/O component 740. Because the mobile device 700 can includeadditional and/or alternative components, the above embodiment should beunderstood as being illustrative of one possible operating environmentfor various embodiments of the concepts and technologies describedherein. The described embodiment of the mobile device 700 isillustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

Based on the foregoing, it should be appreciated that systems andmethods for providing a remotely activated monitoring service have beendisclosed herein. Although the subject matter presented herein has beendescribed in language specific to computer structural features,methodological and transformative acts, specific computing machinery,and computer-readable media, it is to be understood that the conceptsand technologies disclosed herein are not necessarily limited to thespecific features, acts, or media described herein. Rather, the specificfeatures, acts and mediums are disclosed as example forms ofimplementing the concepts and technologies disclosed herein.

The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustrationonly and should not be construed as limiting. Various modifications andchanges may be made to the subject matter described herein withoutfollowing the example embodiments and applications illustrated anddescribed, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of theembodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein.

We claim:
 1. A method comprising: detecting, at a server computerexecuting a monitoring service, an event associated with a user device;determining, by the server computer, that monitoring of a proximity ofthe user device is to be initiated based upon the event; determining, bythe server computer, a geographic location of the user device;identifying, by the server computer, monitoring hardware that is tomonitor the proximity of the user device; and issuing, by the servercomputer, a command to the monitoring hardware to initiate monitoring ofthe proximity of the user device by the monitoring hardware.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the servercomputer, if a prompt is to be generated at the user device; in responseto a determination that the prompt is to be generated, generating, bythe server computer, a monitoring alert, and transmitting, by the servercomputer, the monitoring alert to the user device; and obtaining, by theserver computer, input indicating that the monitoring is to beinitiated.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein obtaining the inputcomprises receiving a monitoring request from the user device, andwherein the monitoring request comprises an explicit request generatedby the user device in response to detecting an input to select an optionto monitor the user device.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: obtaining, by the server computer, monitoring data generatedby the monitoring hardware; analyzing, by the server computer, themonitoring data to determine if an action is to be taken; and inresponse to a determination that the action is to be taken, generating,by the server computer, action data indicating an action to be taken,and transmitting, by the server computer, the action data to an entity.5. The method of claim 4, wherein transmitting the action data comprisesgenerating a request for emergency personnel at the geographic locationwith user data that identifies an entity associated with the userdevice.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring comprisesmonitoring the user device.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein themonitoring comprises monitoring an entity associated with the userdevice.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the monitoringhardware comprises identifying monitoring hardware within detectionrange of a monitored location comprising the geographic location.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein identifying the monitoring hardware comprisesidentifying a video device within a viewing range of the monitoredlocation.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the eventcomprises detecting a monitoring request generated by the user device,and wherein the user device comprises a smartphone.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, wherein detecting the event comprises determining a furthergeographic location of the user device, comparing the further geographiclocation to location data stored at a data store, and determining, basedupon the comparison, that the user device is at a location specified bythe location data as a location at which monitoring is to be initiated.12. A system comprising: a processor; and a memory storingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor,cause the processor to perform operations comprising detecting an eventassociated with a user device, determining that monitoring of aproximity of the user device is to be initiated based upon the event,determining a geographic location of the user device, identifyingmonitoring hardware to monitor the proximity of the user device, andissuing, by the server computer, a command to the monitoring hardware toinitiate monitoring of the proximity of the user device by themonitoring hardware.
 13. The system of claim 12, further comprising adata store that stores event data generated by the monitoring service,the event data comprising: preferences associated with the user deviceand the monitoring service; event definitions that define conditions inwhich monitoring of the proximity of the user device is to be initiated;location data defining locations at which monitoring of the proximity ofthe user device is to be initiated; and user data comprising datadescribing a user associated with the user device.
 14. The system ofclaim 12, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to perform operationsfurther comprising: obtaining monitoring data generated by themonitoring hardware; analyzing the monitoring data to determine if anaction is to be taken; and in response to a determination that theaction is to be taken, generating action data indicating an action to betaken, and transmitting the action data to an entity.
 15. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the user device comprises a smart phone that executesan application program that interacts with a monitoring service, andwherein the smart phone executes the application program to performoperations comprising: displaying a prompt for user permission toinitiate monitoring, in response to receiving a monitoring alert from amonitoring service; displaying a user interface control for requestingmonitoring of the user device; and generating a monitoring request basedupon conditions at the user device.
 16. A computer storage medium havingcomputer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by aprocessor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:detecting an event associated with a user device; determining thatmonitoring of a proximity of the user device is to be initiated basedupon the event; determining a geographic location of the user device;identifying monitoring hardware to monitor the proximity of the userdevice; and issuing a command to the monitoring hardware to initiatemonitoring of the proximity of the user device by the monitoringhardware.
 17. The computer storage medium of claim 16, furthercomprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, cause the processor to perform operations further comprising:obtaining monitoring data generated by the monitoring hardware;analyzing the monitoring data to determine if an action is to be taken;and in response to a determination that the action is to be taken,generating action data indicating an action to be taken, andtransmitting the action data to an entity.
 18. The computer storagemedium of claim 16, further comprising computer-executable instructionsthat, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to performoperations further comprising: obtaining event data generated by amonitoring service; and storing the event data at a data store, theevent data being stored with data that associates the event data withthe user device.
 19. The computer storage medium of claim 16, furthercomprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, cause the processor to perform operations further comprising:determining that a prompt is to be generated at the user device; inresponse to a determination that the prompt is to be generated,generating a monitoring alert, and transmitting the monitoring alert tothe user device; and obtaining input from the user device, the inputindicating that the monitoring is to be initiated.
 20. The computerstorage medium of claim 16, further comprising computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processorto perform operations further comprising: obtaining monitoring datagenerated by the monitoring hardware; analyzing the monitoring data todetermine if an action is to be taken; and in response to adetermination that the action is to be taken, generating action dataindicating an action to be taken, and transmitting the action data to anentity.